Jake Upstead
Jacob Dale Upstead (born Jacob Jakers Dale Blackly-Upstead), commonly referred to as Jake, was born 31st August 2056 in Camden, London. He attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was sorted into Hufflepuff. Jake graduated with the class of 2074 and is currently employed as a Hit Wizard with the British Ministry of Magic, and a part-time mentor for at-risk youth. He lives with his wife, Becca Parker, along with their twin daughters, Xanthe Nemesis Upstead and Pax Calypso Upstead (b. 1st April 2088), and son, Ezra Summer Upstead (b. 21st June 2090). Jake's grandson, Angelo Milano Evans (b. 21st November 2094) also lives with the family. Jake's patronus is a maine coon and his boggart takes the form of Samuel Huxley/Remi Devereaux. He is also a registered animagus and can transform into a tabby cat. Personality and Key Characteristics TBA History Pre-Life and Early Life Jake was born on 31st August 2056 to parents Brooke Blackly, 19, and Heath Upstead, 20. The pair had only been together for a very short while before Brooke fell pregnant with Jake, but Heath proposed to Brooke all the same, soon after finding out. However, a few months after Jake was born, Heath - who had plenty of commitment issues, dubious morals in general, and a lack of connection with his newborn son - abandoned his fiancée and child very suddenly. Jake was a difficult baby, and seemed to constantly scream or cry, and was impossible to calm down; it wasn’t long before Brooke found herself resenting her child, and then herself for the way she felt. From then on, Jake was raised by Brooke, who remained a single mother. She would often work long hours, leaving Jake in the care of his grandparents when he was very young, but eventually simply leaving him alone in their London flat, with a muggle television and TV shows for company. Despite being pureblood, Brooke curiously lived almost exclusively as a muggle, and expected the same of her son, unaware that her father was defying her wishes and telling Jake all manner of stories about the wizarding world, even taking him to see a Quidditch game at one point. Brooke, on the other hand, while never denying the existence of magic, angrily forbade any mention of it. Jake found it very difficult to separate the two worlds in his head, and struggled to understand when it was appropriate to talk about either muggle or magical worlds, and when it would be met with anger; it is likely that this confusion was what led to the first appearance of his stutter when he was five years old. Pre-Hogwarts Muggle primary school was particularly difficult for Jake; as well as dealing with a stutter, which the other children teased him for, he also found it much more difficult to deal with his emotions than the other children did, could not understand the social norms that everyone else seemed to follow with ease, and would frequently say things that would get him into trouble, much to his own confusion. He also had huge trouble with learning to read and write, which only made him much more susceptible to bullying; this in turn made Jake all the more emotional and prone to anger. His years at primary school were marked by frequent suspensions, eventually culminating in a permanent exclusion when Jake was nine years old. By this time, Jake was known to both muggle and magical social services, due to his mother’s repeated declarations that she couldn’t cope. Jake was kept out of school from then on, again staying home alone for much of the time, with the muggle television providing the extent of his ‘social’ interactions. Though it appears to others to have been a sad situation, Jake claims the exact opposite: talking along with the television helped improve his speech immensely, he didn’t have to worry about saying or doing the wrong thing, and he barely ever had emotional outbursts, the exception being when his mother was present. It was during this time of relative peace that he was finally evaluated by a doctor, and was diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. Jake's Hogwarts letter was delivered by his then social worker, who revealed that she herself was a witch. Having by now spent enough time by himself to last a lifetime, Jake expressed his desire to attend Hogwarts, and his mother - after a long, emotional talk with the social worker - finally relented, and agreed to attempt to re-enter the magical world with him. Though Brooke’s attempt did not last long, once Jake entered the magical world, he never left it. Hogwarts First Year Upon arriving at Hogwarts, Jake was sorted into Hufflepuff, though the Hat seemed to have some trouble in ruling out Gryffindor. He then decided to tryout for the Quidditch team, despite having never been allowed to fly on a broom in his life, but shocked everyone in proving himself to be an instinctive flyer and a skilled Quidditch player, earning the position of Seeker (which he continued to play until he graduated). He even managed to make a handful of friends, despite his still very pronounced issues with social skills - though he still faced bullies - and developed a crush on Moaning Myrtle. His best friend was a fellow first year, Slytherin Cameron Karston, a boy just as hyper as he was. He also made friends with plenty of older students, including Slytherin fourth year, Reese Northway. Jake struggled with both producing magic and in keeping up with theory lessons, though he proved to have particular strengths in classes such as History of Magic, and Care of Magical Creatures. The respective professors of these classes, Ethan Truebridge and Iliana Morgan, quickly became two of his favourites. In contrast to this, Jake had plenty of run-ins with Professor Valon Kazimeriz, who he found interesting if not mildly terrifying. Jake’s first brush with traumatic events at Hogwarts occurred when he witnessed the death of fellow Hufflepuff first year and dormmate, Set Avis, who appeared to drop dead in the middle of the library (but was in fact, unbeknownst to Jake or the other students, murdered by an invisible Lord Voldemortist). The rest of Jake's first year was otherwise full of strange events, with certain members of staff (later believed to have been charmed or cursed by looking into the Mirror of Erised) acting more like children than some of their own students. Jake's personal experiences during his first year were largely positive; having a somewhat chaotic personality, he thrived in the chaos of Hogwarts, he made plenty of friends (and a few enemies), and his confidence received a huge (perhaps too huge) boost. Second Year When the school year ended, Jake returned to London to be with his mother again, but he was there for only a few days before his problems with his temper suddenly re-emerged, and he ran away after an angry outburst during an argument. After sleeping rough for a couple of nights, Jake was found by his social worker, who took him instead, with a police escort, to his biological father’s house; Brooke had decided she no longer wanted to deal with her son or the magical world he was determined to be part of. There was a series of surprises waiting for Jake at Heath Upstead's house. First off, he discovered that his biological family was now rich, although unwilling to share exactly how he had obtained his money. Second, Heath had another son living with him, five year old Dale Upstead, and another, much older son with whom he had little contact. Third, Heath had only recently remarried, meaning that Jake was joining the house with a whole new step family, one which included Reese Northway, his friend from Hogwarts. Jake struggled to settle at his father's house, and his behavioural problems became suddenly pronounced once again. He resented his father for not only leaving him but for succeeding in life, and for finding a new son and a new family, and he resented young Dale by association. His negative feelings towards his little brother were not improved when Dale got hold of his wand and accidentally turned Jake's hair pink, and affliction which lasted for months. At Hogwarts, Jake's behaviour continued to test those around him. He lost points frequently and, at once point, 'borrowed' Professor Anastasia Bunbury's cat Gingersnapple and turned him pink. Jake featured regularly in the student publication Aparecium, found his first girlfriend largely by accident, was dumped by said girlfriend, and landed his first detention. Also in his second year, Jake met Professor Marcus Lawson, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, who became another of his favourite teachers. He found himself on the wrong side of Professor Bunbury, however, at one point ending up in detention for a reminder about invading personal space. In this detention, Bunbury set a Devil's Snare on Jake who, while never in any great danger, panicked and had a huge meltdown. After the detention, Jake's stutter returned. Jake's second year at school was the term during which the castle flooded from the lowest floors up, eventually revealed to be the work of the disgruntled Merpeople. The Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were displaced from their common rooms and had to stay with the other houses, so Jake and his fellow Hufflepuffs bunked with the Ravenclaws. Third Year Immediately after disembarking from the Hogwarts Express at the end of his second year, Jake ran away, having no intention of going back to his biological father's house. He was soon retrieved and placed with a string of temporary guardians, each placement more unsuccessful than the last, before ending up placed with Iliana Morgan, who became his foster carer. Also during the summer, Jake went rock-climbing with one of his other professors, Ethan Truebridge, whom he greatly admired. Back at school for his third year, things started to go downhill again for Jake. During the first Hogsmeade weekend, he and another student - LouAnn Purple - each had a set of mysterious stones planted on them. They were both incredibly possessive over the stones they found in their pockets, and became confrontational at the suggestion that they might have to surrender them. Over the course of the year, both Jake and LouAnn would suffer periods of blackouts. It was during these blackouts that they unknowingly and unwillingly murdered three Hufflepuff students, with Jake even attacking and seriously injuring his professor and father figure, Marcus Lawson, landing the man in St. Mungo’s. Jake’s increasingly strange behaviour - such as outbursts in which Jake sounded nothing like himself even to the point that he lost his regular stutter, or his blatant attempt to attack another student in class - caught the attention of his Head of House, Professor Shackleton, who gave Jake multiple detentions but suspected that he may have been suffering from a medical ailment. At the end of the school year, both Jake and LouAnn ended up possessed one last time, during which they planted their mysterious stones in the Headmaster’s office. A short time later, Headmaster Reynard Bontecou vanished mysteriously from his office. As a result of the blackouts, which coincided so unnervingly with the incidences of murdered students, and having discovered he attacked his own professor, Jake spent some time in St. Mungo’s after his third year at Hogwarts so that Healers could attempt to work out what had transpired. They soon came to the conclusion, from Jake's reports about the stones, the blackouts, and the attacks, that he had indeed been possessed throughout the school year. Jake never regained the memories of what he had done during those periods of possession, but even just the suspicion that it was he who had been use as a puppet for the murders had a profound effect on him nevertheless, and led to an intense obsession with control and power. On a more positive note, it was during Jake's third year that his foster mother, Iliana Morgan, became engaged to Marcus Lawson, and both agreed to adopt him despite the troubles of the school year. This was also the year that Jake befriended first year Tiberius Pryce, also known as Tibi, who quickly became his best friend. Fourth Year During his fourth year at Hogwarts, Jake and several other students, including Tibi, were caught up in yet another wave of unfortunate circumstances. These students were all put under the Imperius Curse and made to duel each other in a kind of wizarding Fight Club in the Forbidden Forest, for other wizards to place bets on. The students had little memory of this fight club the next day, and Jake, unnerved by the blackouts due to his previous experiences and not thinking at all clearly, persuaded Tibi not to tell the Healer that they couldn't remember how they had obtained their injuries. As the term wore on, the mysterious occurrences at Hogwarts became more and more serious, eventually culminating in the wizard behind the attacks - Remi Devereaux - coming up to the school. A battle broke out between the Hogwarts staff and students, and the students Remi had under the Imperius curse, until those students were helped to break their way out of the curses, and several members of Hogwarts staff overpowered Devereaux. During the battle, Jake's adoptive mother Iliana Lawson went into labour, and later gave birth to his little sister, Ava, at St. Mungo's. After the events of his fourth year, Jake suffered a minor breakdown as a direct result of the trauma of his third and fourth years, and spent a couple more weeks at St. Mungo's in order to recover and heal. Also during his fourth year at Hogwarts, Jake got into more and more trouble around school, and his anger issues became more pronounced. Hogwarts Professor Valon Kazimeriz, with whom Jake had plenty of run-ins, attempted to remedy this problem by bewitching Jake so that, if he lost his temper, his thumbs would detach themselves and run away, requiring him to chase them down. Jake was not at all impressed with this turn of events. Fifth Year Once back at home for the holidays, Jake's behavioural problems worsened yet again. Not only was he still reeling from the emotional impact of the last two years, but he also now harboured extra worries surrounding his new little sister. He became convinced that his adoptive parents loved and wanted the new baby more, especially given all the problems he himself had. He struggled with his mental health all throughout the summer and more than once ran away from home. If that wasn't enough, Jake also had a huge falling out with his best friend Tibi, who told Jake that he would be transferring to Beauxbatons as a direct result of everything that had happened. Jake, furious and feeling abandoned, blew up at Tibi (consequently losing his thumbs, having to chase them down, and crushing them with a stomp of his foot) and privately vowed to cut off all contact with him. When September arrived, Jake reluctantly returned to Hogwarts despite having no desire to be there, as his parents and now ex-best friend were not coming back. Over the course of the term, Jake struggled with his behaviour, getting into fights and talking back to teachers, and also with being tempted by the idea of dark magic and being in control. It wasn't until he had a detention with Professor Preston Kingsley, after a near-fight in the Great Hall with rival and bully Joshua Carter, that he started to turn this around and focus his attention elsewhere. With the support of Kingsley and some other members of staff, Jake decided to put practically all of his focus into his schoolwork and improving his spellwork, which he had always been notoriously bad at. He was officially diagnosed with dyslexia and finally received extra lessons for reading and writing to his great benefit, and took his OWLs with extra support from the school. He still, however, continued to challenge authority in school, and his behaviour only barely improved. Sixth Year Jake's summer before his sixth year started well with the arrival of his exam results; he achieved twelve OWLs, eleven O grades and one E. Things did not stay positive however, as Jake's emotional problems quickly started to get the better of him, particularly when he started picking up on tensions between his adoptive parents. Jake went through many meltdowns before the time came again for him to go back to Hogwarts. However, Jake only stayed at school for the first few weeks of term. He left the school in order to be homeschooled for the year after that learning that Quidditch was to be cancelled in favour of the Triwizard Tournament, and that students from other schools would be converging on Hogwarts. Officially, the plan was for him to take some time away from the school to be better prepared for his final year. Jake spent his sixth year being tutored by ex-professor Valon Kazimeriz, serving also as a sort of apprentice. During the year, he grew taller and stronger, had speech therapy to help with his stutter, and came to terms with his dyslexia. Now with more time to focus on his additional needs in reading and writing, Jake found ways to manage this and discovered that he did not hate reading for fun. He was also given advanced tutoring in magical theory and spellwork. During his year of homeschooling, Jake generally gained a lot more personal confidence as well as in his academics and magic. However, it was also during this year the Jake's adoptive parents' marriage broke up; Jake ultimately felt responsible for their problems, and continued to feel that whatever he did and wherever he went, instability would follow. Seventh Year Jake returned to his seventh and final year at Hogwarts feeling more emotionally settled after his much needed year's break from school. When he returned, he did so as a Morgan, using his mother's maiden name, and not as an Upstead. Despite feeling more settled at school than ever before, Jake still harboured a lot of upset about the breakdown of his adoptive family, and this was only too clear to those who knew him most. Once at school, though his behaviour and attitude improved dramatically, Jake's inquisitive nature and tendency to speak his mind and stand his ground caused him to find himself in trouble more than once. Though he had changed his name and tried for a fresh slate, his reputation still preceded him and Jake had a lot of trouble checking himself and staying out of trouble. During Jake's seventh year, he ended up in his first sort-of serious relationship with girlfriend Neptune Bott, who charmed him from their very first meeting. Neptune was able, mostly through the use of flirting, to talk Jake out of getting himself into troublesome situations, especially in lessons like Potions where he - being a vegetarian - was particularly likely to get upset and frustrated over the use of creature parts. At the end of the year, it was declared that the exams were not going to take place that term. Jake was unhappy with this, as his decision to return to Hogwarts for his final year was partly to take his NEWT level exams. In lieu of this, he arranged to take them at the ministry over the summer. Superlatives - All Years Ghosts' Favourite - First Year (Term 21) Aparecium Star - Second Year (Term 22) Most Likely to Break Out of Azkaban - Second Year (Term 22) Most Likely to Play Professional Quidditch - Third Year (Term 23) Most Likely to Have Their Own Reality TV Show - Fourth Year (Term 24) Ikenna Gevrik's Biggest Fan! - Seventh Year (Term 27) 7th Year Legacy - Seventh Year (Term 27) Quidditch Hufflepuff Quidditch 2067-2068 Hufflepuff Team Miranda BelCanto (Luna Laufghudd) Vanessa Corbette (RachieRu) Emalyn N. Daniels (SnitCHchASER) Dominic N. Denton (PhoenixRising) Tucker Hart (Katieluff) Kaitlynn Hayman (purple•myst) Kaika I. Lockhart - Captain (Lockhartian) Melanie Lockhart (Lindzers) John Mosier (Harry174) Jakers Upstead (Felixir) Game Results Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw - Ravenclaw wins (175-30) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches no snitches) Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin - Hufflepuff wins (210-10) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Hufflepuff Quidditch 2068-2069 Hufflepuff Team Cyrus P. Andrus (ZDARDSKY) Miranda BelCanto (Luna Laufghudd) Emalyn N. Daniels (SnitCHchASER) Dominic N. Denton (PhoenixRising) Kaika I. Lockhart - Captain (Lockhartian) Melanie F. Lockhart (Lindzers) Jakers Upstead (Felixir) Sarah J. Winchester (Harry174) Game Results Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff - Hufflepuff wins (0-0) (Gryffindor forced to forfeit due to lack of players, nobody gets to play) Ravenclaw vs. Hufflepuff - Hufflepuff wins (200-50) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Hufflepuff Quidditch 2069-2070 Hufflepuff Team Miranda BelCanto (Luna Laufghudd) Dominic N. Denton (PhoenixRising) Torin Kane (Squishy) Cedric N. Leone (Wenzlebug) Kita Lewis (hermionesclone) Kaika I. Lockhart - Captain (Lockhartian) Melanie F. Lockhart (Lindzers) Ryder Montgomery (purple•myst) Brody Summers (RachieRu) Jakers Upstead (Felixir) Sarah J. Winchester (Harry174) Game Results Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin - Hufflepuff wins (170-40) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff - Hufflepuff wins (180-50) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Hufflepuff Quidditch 2070-2071 Hufflepuff Team Miranda BelCanto - Captain (Luna Laufghudd) Lorelai Bristol (Shanners) Emalyn Daniels (SnitchCHASER) Torin K. Kane (Squishy) Kita Lewis (hermionesclone) Melanie Lockhart (Lindzers) Esmerelda N. Losey (Sirius_Padfoot) Ryder Montgomery (purple•myst) Kaytone Potter-Evans (Kaytone) Aaron Rose (PhoenixRising) Michelle J. Stefko (b_stewart) Jakers D. Upstead (Felixir) Game Results Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff wins (180-50) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff - Gryffindor wins (185-40) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 1 snitch) Hufflepuff Quidditch 2071-2072 Hufflepuff Team Miranda C. BelCanto - Captain (Luna Laufghudd) Melissa Bellator (Ron/Hermione4eva) Kaytone P. Evans (Kaytone) Melanie Lockhart (Lindzers) Treyen S. Lockhart (Lockhartian) Michelle J. Stefko (b_stewart) Jakers D. Upstead '''(Felixir) ''Reserves'' Simon Leonarder De Simpson (Harry174) Eloise Greenstone (Nymphadora_Moody) Torin Kane (Squishy) Cedric N. Leone (Wenzlebug) '''Game Results Gryffindor vs. Hufflepuff - Hufflepuff wins (190-0) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Hufflepuff vs Slytherin - Hufflepuff wins (200-30) (Jake did not play) Hufflepuff Quidditch 2073-2074 Hufflepuff Team Kaia Barnard (Shanners) Rene Cullen (lilithpotter) Simon De Simpson (Harry174) Cedric N. Leone (Wenzlebug) Melanie Lockhart - Captain (Lindzers) Treyen S. Lockhart (Lockhartian) Kaitlynnh Mae (D.A Forever) Jakers D. Morgan (Felixir) Kay Potter-Evans (Kaytone) Isobel VonHue (EmilyMalfoy) Game Results Hufflepuff vs. Slytherin - Hufflepuff wins (180-10) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw - Hufflepuff wins (175-10) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches 3 snitches) Hufflepuff vs. Ravenclaw - Ravenclaw wins (190-20) (Jake plays as Seeker, catches no snitches) Post-Hogwarts After graduating Hogwarts, Jake opted not to try for a career in professional Quidditch, as many expected of him, but instead went to volunteer on a dragon reserve while he weighed up his options. It was here that his first serious girlfriend, Neptune Bott, broke up with him via owl; his first major heartbreak. Jake’s adoptive father was, at the time, a band manager, and so Jake opted to go on tour with him and his band, and complete his studies in Wandlore via night classes, but it soon became clear that Jake could deal with neither the lifestyle nor the course of study. He switched to a degree in History of Magic, and went to live on campus, eventually graduating after four years. While at university, he dabbled in tutoring as a means of earning some extra galleons. Now independent and having put a lot of distance between himself and his adoptive family, Jake decided he was better off alone and legally changed his name, including changing his surname back to Upstead. From university, Jake went on to undertake Auror training, before applying to the British Ministry of Magic. He was employed as a Hit Wizard, but only lasted a few years before becoming disillusioned with the job. He decided he wanted to be the kind of person who intervened with troubled individuals before they needed to be arrested, and so, once he earned enough money to keep him going, he quit his job and returned to university as a mature student, this time to study Primary and Secondary Education. Once he had graduated, he became a private tutor and mentor for troubled and at-risk young witches and wizards, particularly those who may have been expelled from school or weren't suited to boarding school. However, Jake’s plans were soon to change again, when his sort-of-girlfriend (and old schoolmate), Becca Parker, informed him that she was pregnant with his child. At the time, Jake was 31 and had one year of his university course left, but when it was discovered that Becca was due to have twins, Jake realised that he would need to return to his previous - and well-paying - job as a Hit Wizard in order to help support the four of them. The twins - Xanthe Nemesis Upstead and Pax Calypso Upstead - were born on 1st April 2088, and Jake was instantly devoted to them, determined to give them a good live. He fell further and further in love with Becca, who later gave birth to a third child, Ezra Summer Upstead, on 21st June 2090. Jake and Becca finally eloped a month later, on 31st July 2090. Later in 2090, Jake got in touch with his brother Daniel - his father's first son - and his family, after they had been completely absent from each other's lives. Jake was thrilled to be connected with his brother as well as his niece and nephews. But Jake’s settled life was interrupted when, in 2091, he was approached by a member of the Toussaint family, and was informed that they were looking after a boy who had been expelled from Hogwarts, and who was possibly Jake’s biological son. DNA tests confirmed that Jake was the father of Daxton Prince, who was then 15 years old, but when he went to meet the boy, Daxton made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with Jake. Jake was heartbroken, as he had wanted to have children for years without ever knowing he already had a son, and now that son had rejected him. He was, however, newly motivated in his goal to help troubled youth, especially after seeing exactly the state his own son had fallen into in his absence, and feeling ultimately responsible. Alongside his job as a Hit Wizard, Jake also works with young wizards and witches identified as being at-risk, or who are involved in the care system, and works with them as a mentor as his second job. In 2094, Aslan Evans - whom Jake had met during the debacle regarding Daxton - fell pregnant. The father was Daxton, making Jake the grandfather. Jake offered Aslan support where he could, eventually looking after the baby, Angelo Milano Evans (b. 21st November 2094), alongside his own kids to help out Aslan when she went back to studying and working. Around this time, Jake and Becca started to discuss expanding their own family, and began looking into the possibility of adoption, something Jake had been eager to do since being a child in care himself. Category:Hit Wizards and Hit Witches Category:Department of Magical Law Enforcement Category:Characters Category:Hufflepuff Category:Class of 2074 Category:Hogwarts Category:Yearbook Category:Wizarding University Alumni Category:Half-Blood